university of toronto alumni association how to use social media to reach and engage alumni cindy...
TRANSCRIPT
University of Toronto Alumni Association
How to use social media to reach and engage alumni
Cindy Ross Pedersen, UTAA DirectorBrendan Dellandrea, Director, Online Marketing and Communications, University Advancement,
University of Toronto
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Agenda
● Overview of the top social media sites (15 min)○ Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter
● Deeper dive into each (30 min)○ 2-3 examples: UofT and best in class○ Examine features and integration between these tools○ How to do it yourself
• As an individual, as a group• What it costs• How to do it effectively
● Ask questions along the way!
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Overview (Cindy)
● Facebook○ What is it, features high
level○ Example on screen will be
My profile then UofT alumni page
● LinkedIn○ What is it, features high
level○ Example on screen will be
my profile then click through to alumni group
● YouTube○ What is it, features○ Example: UofT channel
● Twitter○ What is it, features○ Example: ??
This king of social network platforms
Individuals or brands (organizations, companies, places…)
Allows people to connect
Sharing of news and events
Big on comments and creating communities of interest
The king of connections
It’s about resumes, jobs and contacts
Reinvented HR
Expanded to providing news and encouraging discussion
This king of video sharing
It’s a channel and a repository
Lots of tools to embed YouTube videos in your sites
Also supports likes and comments
The king of buzz
News feed
Topic hubs and subject matter experts
Reactions right now!
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Facebook: Examples
Alumni Facebook page examples:● U of T Alumni: https://www.facebook.com/uoftalumni● U of T Life After Grad: https
://www.facebook.com/LifeAfterGradUofT● McGill Alumni: https
://www.facebook.com/McGillUniversityAlumni● MIT Alumni: https://www.facebook.com/MITAA
Organization Facebook page examples:● Western: https://www.facebook.com/WesternUniversity● Harvard: https://www.facebook.com/Harvard● Starbucks: https://www.facebook.com/Starbucks
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Facebook: Practical Considerations
Content stimulates conversation:● Video, event photos, event invitations, press coverage
Fans like recognition: orient your strategy around your community
Resource requirements:● Approx. 30-60 minutes a day to post, monitor and respond
to comments to get started.● Promotion: contests, Facebook ads, placement in other
publications
How to set up a Facebook page: http://mashable.com/2011/05/22/how-to-facebook-page/
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Deep Dive: LinkedIn (Cindy)
● 2-3 examples: UofT and best in class○ With email digests and updates
● Examine features and integration between these tools○ Look at classmates feature
● How to do it yourself○ As an individual, as a group○ What it costs○ How to do it effectively
University of Toronto Alumni Association
University of Toronto Alumni Association
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Twitter: Examples
Twitter for content sharing and community engagement:● MaRS Discovery District: https://twitter.com/#!/MaRSDD● U of T Magazine: https://twitter.com/#!/uoftmagazine● U of T News: https://twitter.com/#!/UofTNewsUpdate
Twitter as a customer service channel:● T-Mobile: https://twitter.com/#!/TMobileHelp
Is Twitter short-circuiting the 24-hour news cycle?● Reporter Don Peat: https://twitter.com/#!/reporterdonpeat
University of Toronto Alumni Association
YouTube: Examples
● Homepage: http://www.youtube.com/● University of Toronto: http://
www.youtube.com/user/universitytoronto● U of T Alumni Portraits:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82821A4FDE5272C3&feature=plcp
● MIT: http://www.youtube.com/user/MIT
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Where to start
● Join the communities○ Set up your profile in Facebook○ Set up your profile in LinkedIn○ Set up an account with Twitter
● Explore○ Look up friends and groups in Facebook○ Look up contacts and groups in LinkedIn○ Look up topics and contacts in Twitter○ Scan the discussions in all 3○ See the kind of videos posted for alumni in YouTube
● Learn the best practices● Then you can begin to set a strategy
○ Using these tools for your role, using it to support your group
You can select to keep everything
private
You are in control!
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Some references
● General reading○ http://www.mckinsey.com/Features
/Social_Media
● UofT sites○ http://www.facebook.com/uoftalu
mni○ http://www.linkedin.com/groups/U
niversity-Toronto-Alumni-6000-3865?gid=3865&trk=hb_side_g
○ http://www.youtube.com/user/universitytoronto
● Learning the tools○ http://learn.linkedin.com/
○ https://support.twitter.com/groups/31-twitter-basics#
○ http://www.facebook.com/help/basics
○ http://www.youtube.com/t/about_youtube
University of Toronto Alumni Association
How to use social media to reach and engage alumni
[email protected]@utoronto.ca
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Our notes
● Audience○ Some young, some old○ Good percentage have
never been on Facebook (or Twitter) and have negative perceptions
○ More know about LinkedIn because of work or might have seen a Youtube hosted video
○ Not generally a tech savvy audience
● We’ll cover social media from both a personal and group perspective
● How does social media help with○ Events○ Highlighting alumni
activity○ As a reference (to find or
connect with people)○ To solicit advice, foster
conversations
● Guiding folks from awareness (of various social media platforms and best practices) through to active engagement
University of Toronto Alumni Association
Next steps
● Brendan to give heads up to ADOs on Thursday
● Brendan/Cindy to prep presentations and exchange for comment/integration before COP on April 19
● Presentation to be created as a reference for Satpal to distribute with key notes and links